proud, wanton, and cruel. He was pleased when disasters befell his
subjects, and often expressed a wish that the Romans had but one head,
that he might have the pleasure of striking it off. He had a favorite
horse made consul, and adorned it with the most valuable trappings and
ornaments. The tyrant was murdered A.D. 41, in his twenty-ninth year,
after a reign of three years and ten months.
=Calli´ope.= One of the Muses, daughter of Jupiter and Mnemosyne, who
presided over eloquence and heroic poetry.
=Cal´ydon.= A city of Ætolia, where OEneus, the father of Meleager,
reigned. During the reign of OEneus Diana sent a wild boar to ravage
the country on account of the neglect which had been shown of her
divinity by the king. All the princes of the age assembled to hunt the
Calydonian boar. Meleager killed the animal, and gave the head to
Atalanta, of whom he was enamored.
=Calyp´so.= One of the Oceanides, or one of the daughters of Atlas,
according to some writers. When Ulysses was shipwrecked on her coasts
she received him with hospitality, and offered him immortality if he
would remain with her as a husband, which he refused to do, and after
seven years' delay he was permitted to depart from the island where
Calypso reigned.
=Camby´ses=, king of Persia, was the son of Cyrus the Great. He conquered
Egypt, and was so disgusted at the superstition of the Egyptians, that
he killed their god Apis and plundered their temples.
=Camill´us, L. Fu´rius.= A celebrated Roman, called a second Romulus from
the services he rendered his country. He was banished for distributing
the spoils he had obtained at Veii. During his exile Rome was besieged
by the Gauls under Brennus. The besieged Romans then elected him
dictator, and he went to the relief of his country, which he delivered
after it had been some time occupied by the enemy. He died B.C. 365.
=Cam´pus Mar´tius.= A large plain without the walls of Rome, where the
Roman youth were instructed in athletic exercises and learnt to throw
the discus, hurl the javelin, etc.
=Can´næ.= A village of Apuleia, where Hannibal defeated the Roman consuls
Æmylius and Varro, B.C. 216.
=Capitoli´num.= A celebrated temple and citadel at Rome on the Tarpeian
rock.
=Caracal´la=, son of the emperor Septimius Severus, was notorious for his
cruelties. He killed his brother Geta in his mother's arms, and
attempted to destroy the writings of Aristotle. After a life made odious
by his vices he was assassinated, A.D. 217, in the forty-third year of
his age.
=Carac´tacus.= A king of the Britons, who was conquered by the Romans and
taken prisoner to Rome.
=Cartha´go.= Carthage, a celebrated city of Africa, the rival of Rome, and
for a long period the capital of the country, and mistress of Spain,
Sicily, and Sardinia. The time of its foundation is unknown, but it
seems to be agreed on that it was built by Dido about 869 years before
the Christian era, or, according to some writers, 72 or 73 years before
the foundation of Rome. It had reached its highest glory in the days of
Hamilcar and Hannibal.
=Cassan´der=, son of Antipater, made himself master of Macedonia after his
father's death, where he reigned for eighteen years.
=Cassan´dra=, daughter of Priam and Hecuba, was passionately loved by
Apollo, who promised to grant her whatever she might require, and she
obtained from him the power of seeing into futurity. Some say she
received the gift of prophecy, with her brother Helenus, by being placed
when young one night in the temple of Apollo, where serpents were found
wreathed round their bodies and licking their ears, which gave them a
knowledge of futurity. She was allotted to Agamemnon in the division of
the spoils of Troy, and was slain by Clytemnestra, Agamemnon's wife.
=Cas´sius C.= A celebrated Roman who became famous by being first quæstor
to Crassus in his expedition against Parthia. He married Junia, the
sister of Brutus, and joined Brutus in the conspiracy formed to
assassinate Cæsar, after which he returned to Philippi with Brutus, and
commanded one wing of the army in the famous battle fought there. On the
defeat of his forces he ordered one of his freedmen to kill him, and he
perished by the sword which had inflicted a wound on Cæsar. He was
called by Brutus "the last of all the Romans."
=Casta´lius Fons=, or =Casta´lia=. A fountain of Parnassus sacred to the
Muses.
=Castor= and =Pollux= were twin brothers, sons of Jupiter and Leda. Mercury
carried them to Pallena, where they were educated. As soon as they
arrived at manhood they embarked with Jason in quest of the Golden
Fleece. In this expedition they evinced great courage. Pollux defeated
and slew Amycus in the combat of the Cestus, and was afterwards
considered to be the god and patron of boxing and wrestling. Castor
distinguished himself in the management of horses.
=Catili´na, L. Ser´gius=, a celebrated Roman, descended from a noble
family. When he had squandered his fortune he secretly meditated the
ruin of his country, and conspired with many Romans as dissolute as
himself to extirpate the senate, plunder the treasuries, and set Rome on
fire. This plot, known as the Catiline conspiracy, was unsuccessful.
The history of it is written by Sallust. Catiline was killed in battle
B.C. 63.
=Ca´to, Mar´cus=, was great-grandson of the censor Cato. The early virtues
that appeared in his childhood seemed to promise that he would become a
great man. He was austere in his morals and a strict follower of the
tenets of the Stoics. His fondness for candor was so great that his
veracity became proverbial. In the Catilinian conspiracy he supported
Cicero, and was the chief cause of the capital punishment which was
inflicted on some of the conspirators. He stabbed himself after reading
Plato's treatise on the immortality of the soul, B.C. 46, in the
fifty-ninth year of his age.
=Catul´lus C.=, or =Q. Vale´rius=. A poet of Verona whose compositions are
the offspring of a luxuriant imagination. He was acquainted with the
most distinguished people of his age. He directed his satire against
Cæsar, whose only revenge was to invite him to a sumptuous banquet.
=Cel´sus=, a physician in the age of Tiberius, who wrote eight books on
medicine, besides treatises on agriculture, rhetoric, and military
affairs.
=Centau´ri.= A people of Thessaly, half men and half horses. They were the
offspring of Centaurus and Stilbia.
=Centum´viri.= The members of a court of justice at Rome. Though
originally 105 in number, they were known as Centumvirs, and this name
they retained when they were increased to 180.
=Cer´berus.= A dog of Pluto. According to Hesiod he had fifty heads, but
according to other mythologists he had three only. He was placed at the
entrance to the infernal regions to prevent the living from entering,
and the inhabitants of the place from escaping.
=Ce´res=, the goddess of corn and harvests, was daughter of Saturn and
Vesta. She was the mother of Proserpine, who was carried away by Pluto
whilst she was gathering flowers.
=Chærone´a=, a city of Boeotia celebrated for a great battle fought
there, in which the Athenians were defeated by the Boeotians, B.C.
447, and for the victory which Philip of Macedonia obtained there over
the confederate armies of the Thebans and Athenians, B.C. 338. It was
the birth-place of Plutarch.
=Cha´ron.= A god of the infernal regions, son of Nox and Erebus, who
conducted the souls of the dead in a boat over the rivers Styx and
Acheron.
=Che´ops.= A king of Egypt, after Rhampsinitus, famous for building
pyramids.
=Chimæ´ra.= A celebrated monster which continually vomited flames. It was
destroyed by Bellerophon.
=Chi´ron.= A centaur, half a man and half a horse, son of Philyra and
Saturn. He was famous for his knowledge of music, medicine, and
shooting, and taught mankind the use of plants and medicinal herbs.
=Chrysos´tom.= A bishop of Constantinople who died A.D. 407. He was a
great disciplinarian, and by severely lashing the vices of his age he
made many enemies.
=Cic´ero, M. T.=, born at Arpinum, was son of a Roman knight and lineally
descended from the ancient kings of the Sabines. In youth he displayed
many abilities, and was taught philosophy by Philo, and law by Mutius
Scævola. He applied himself with great diligence to the study of
oratory, and was distinguished above all the speakers of his time in the
Roman forum. He signalized himself in opposing Catiline, whom he
publicly accused of treason against the State, and whom he drove from
the city. After a number of vicissitudes of fortune he was assassinated,
B.C. 43, at the age of sixty-three.
=Cincinna´tus, L. Q.= A celebrated Roman, who was informed, as he plowed
in the fields, that the senate had chosen him to be dictator. On this he
left the plow and repaired to the field of battle, where his countrymen
were opposed by the Volsci and Æqui. He conquered the enemy, and entered
Rome in triumph.
=Cir´ce.= A daughter of Sol and Perseis, celebrated for her knowledge of
magic and venomous herbs. She was carried by her father to an island
called Æaea. Ulysses, on his return from the Trojan war, visited her
coasts, and his companions were changed, by her potions, into swine.
Ulysses, who was fortified against enchantments by an herb which he had
received from Mercury, demanded of Circe the restoration of his
companions to their former shape; she complied with his wishes, and
eventually permitted him to depart from her island.
=Claudia´nus.= A celebrated poet, in the age of Honorius, who is
considered by some writers to equal Virgil in the majestic character of
his style.
=Clau´dius, T. Drusus Nero=, son of Drusus, became emperor of Rome after
the death of Caligula. He went to Britain, and obtained a triumph for
victories achieved by his generals. He suffered himself to be governed
by favorites, whose avarice plundered the State and distracted the
provinces. He was poisoned by Agrippina, who wished to raise her son
Nero to the throne.
=Cleopa´tra=, queen of Egypt, daughter of Ptolemy Auletes, was celebrated
for her beauty. Antony became enamored of her and married her, ignoring
his connection with Octavia, the sister of Augustus. He gave her the
greatest part of the eastern provinces of the Roman empire. This caused
a rupture between Augustus and Antony, and these two famous men met at
Actium, when Cleopatra, by flying with sixty ships, ruined the battle
for Antony, and he was defeated. Cleopatra destroyed herself by applying
an asp to her breast.
=Cli´o.= The first of the Muses, daughter of Jupiter and Mnemosyne. She
presided over history.
=Cloaci´na.= A goddess at Rome who presided over the Cloacæ, which were
large receptacles for the filth of the whole city.
=Clo´tho=, the youngest of the three Parcæ, who were daughters of Jupiter
and Themis, was supposed to preside over the moment of birth. She held
the distaff in her hand and spun the thread of life.
=Clytemnes´tra.= A daughter of Tyndarus, king of Sparta, and Leda, married
Agamemnon, king of Argos, in whose absence in the Trojan war she
misconducted herself with his cousin Ægysthus. On the return of
Agamemnon Clytemnestra murdered him, as well as Cassandra, whom he had
brought with him. After this Clytemnestra ascended the throne of Argos.
In the meantime her son Orestes, after an absence of seven years,
returned, resolved to avenge the death of his father Agamemnon. On an
occasion when Ægysthus and Clytemnestra repaired to the Temple of
Apollo, Orestes, with his friend Pylades, killed them.
=Clyt´ia= or =Clyt´ie=. A daughter of Oceanus and Tethys, beloved by Apollo.
She was changed into a sun-flower.
=Co´cles, P. Horatius.= A celebrated Roman who alone opposed the whole
army of Porsenna at the head of a bridge whilst his companions were
cutting off the communication with the other shore. When the bridge was
destroyed, Cocles, though wounded by the darts of the enemy, leapt into
the Tiber and swam across it, armed as he was. For his heroism a brazen
statue was raised to him in the Temple of Vulcan.
=Co´drus.= The last king of Athens, son of Melanthus. When the Heraclidæ
made war against Athens, the oracle said that the victory would be
granted to that nation whose king was killed in battle. The Heraclidæ on
hearing this gave orders to spare the life of Codrus, but the patriotic
king disguised himself, and engaging with one of the enemy, was killed.
The Athenians obtained the victory, and Codrus was regarded as the
savior of his country.
=Coe´lus= or =Ura´nus=. An ancient deity supposed to be the father of
Saturn, Oceanus, and Hyperion.
=Col´chis= or =Col´chos=. A country of Asia famous for the expedition of the
Argonauts, and as being the birthplace of Medea.
=Collati´nus, L. Tarquinius.= A nephew of Tarquin the Proud. He married
Lucretia. He, with Brutus, drove the Tarquins from Rome.
=Colos´sus.= A celebrated brazen image at Rhodes, which was considered to
be one of the seven wonders of the world.
=Com´modus, L. Aure´lius Antoni´nus=, son of M. Antoninus, succeeded his
father in the Roman empire. He was naturally cruel and fond of indulging
his licentious propensities. Desirous of being likened to Hercules, he
adorned his shoulders with a lion's skin, and carried a knotted club in
his hand. He fought with the gladiators, and boasted of his skill in
killing wild beasts in the amphitheatre. He was strangled by a wrestler
in the thirty-first year of his age, A.D. 192.
=Co´mus.= The god of revelry, feasting, and nocturnal amusements. He is
represented as a drunken young man with a torch in his hand.
=Concor´dia.= The goddess of peace and concord at Rome, to whom Camillus
raised a temple in the Capitol.
=Confu´cius.= A Chinese philosopher, as much honored amongst his
countrymen as if he had been a monarch. He died about 499 years B.C.
=Co´non.= A famous general of Athens, son of Timotheus. He was made
governor of all the islands of the Athenians, and was defeated in a
naval battle by Lysander. He defeated the Spartans near Cnidos, when
Pisander, the enemy's admiral, was killed. He died in prison B.C. 393.
=Constan´tia.= A granddaughter of the great Constantine, married the
Emperor Gratian.
=Constanti´nus=, surnamed the Great from the greatness of his exploits,
was son of Constantius. It is said that as he was going to fight against
Maxentius, one of his rivals, he saw a cross in the sky with the
inscription, _In hoc vince_. From this he became a convert to
Christianity, ever after adopting a cross for his standard. He founded a
city where old Byzantium formerly stood, and called it Constantinopolis.
There he kept his court, and made it the rival of Rome in population and
magnificence. He died A.D. 337, after a reign of thirty-one years of the
greatest glory.
=Constan´tius Chlo´rus=, son of Eutropius, and father of the great
Constantine. He obtained victories in Britain and Germany. He became the
colleague of Galerius on the abdication of Dioclesian, and died A.D.
306, bearing the reputation of being brave, humane, and benevolent.
=Con´sul.= A magistrate at Rome with real authority for the space of a
year. There were two consuls, who were annually chosen in the Campus
Martius. The first two were L. Jun. Brutus and L. Tarquinius Collatinus.
=Corin´na.= A celebrated woman of Thebes, whose father was Archelodorus.
It is said that she obtained a poetical prize five times against the
competitorship of Pindar.
=Coriola´nus.= The surname of C. Martius, from his victory over Corioli.
After a number of military exploits, and many services to his country,
he was refused the consulship. He was banished, and went to the Volsci,
where he met with a gracious reception from Tullus Aufidius, whom he
advised to make war against Rome, marching with the Volsci as general.
His approach alarmed the Romans, who sent his mother and his wife to
meet him and appease his resentment against his countrymen, which with
difficulty they succeeded in doing.
=Corne´lia.= A daughter of Scipio Africanus, famous for her learning and
virtues, and as being the mother of the Gracchi, Tiberius and Caius
Gracchus. Her husband was T. Sempronius Gracchus.
=Cras´sus, M. Licin´ius.= A celebrated Roman, who by educating slaves and
selling them, became very wealthy. He was made consul with Pompey, and
was afterwards censor, and formed one of the first triumvirate, his
associates in it being Pompey and Cæsar. In the hope of enlarging his
possessions he left Rome, crossed the Euphrates, and hastened to make
himself master of Parthia. He was met by Surena, the Parthian general,
and in the battle which ensued 20,000 of the Romans were killed and
10,000 made prisoners. Crassus surrendered, and was put to death B.C.
53.
=Cre´on=, king of Corinth, was son of Sisyphus. He promised his daughter
Glauce to Jason, who had repudiated Medea. To revenge herself on her
rival, Medea sent her a present of a dress covered with poison. Glauce
put it on, and was seized with sudden pain. Her body took fire, and she
expired in the greatest agony. The house in which she was was also
consumed, and Creon and his family shared Glauce's fate.
=Cre´on.= King of Thebes, whose territories were ravaged by the Sphinx.
Creon offered his crown to any one who would explain the enigmas
proposed by the Sphinx. OEdipus solved the riddles, and ascended the
throne of Thebes.
=Croe´sus=, the fifth and last of the Mermnadæ, who reigned in Lydia,
was the son of Alyattes, and was considered the richest man in the
world. His court was an asylum for learning, and Æsop, the famous fable
writer, with other learned men, lived under his patronage. "As rich as
Croesus," has become a proverb.
=Cupi´do=, god of love, son of Jupiter and Venus, is represented as a
winged infant, naked, armed with a bow and arrows. On gems and ornaments
he is represented generally as amusing himself with some childish
diversion. Cupid, like the rest of the gods, assumed different shapes,
and we find him in the Æneid putting on, at the request of his mother,
the form of Ascanius, and going to Dido's court, where he inspired the
queen with love.
=Cur´tius, M.= A Roman who devoted himself to the service of his country,
about 360 years B.C., by leaping on horseback, and fully armed, into a
huge gap in the earth, at the command of the oracle.
=Cyb´ele.= A goddess, daughter of Coelus and Terra, and wife of Saturn.
She was supposed to be the same as Ceres, Rhea, Ops, Vesta, etc.
According to Diodorus, she was the daughter of a Lydian prince. On her
birth she was exposed on a mountain, where she was tended and fed by
wild beasts, receiving the name of Cybele from the mountain where her
life had been preserved.
=Cyclo´pes.= A race of men of gigantic stature, supposed to be the sons of
Coelus and Terra. They had only one eye, which was in the center of
the forehead. According to Hesiod they were three in number, and named
Arges, Brontes, and Steropes.
=Cy´rus.= A king of Persia, son of Cambyses and Mandane, daughter of
Astyages, king of Media. Xenophon has written the life of Cyrus; and
delineates him as a brave and virtuous prince, and often puts in his
mouth many of the sayings of Socrates.
=Cy´rus= the younger was the son of Darius Nothus, and the brother of
Artaxerxes, the latter succeeding to the throne at the death of Nothus.
Cyrus was appointed to the command of Lydia and the sea-coasts, where he
fomented rebellion and levied troops under various pretenses. At length
he took the field with an army of 100,000 Barbarians and 13,000 Greeks
under the command of Clearchus. Artaxerxes met him with 900,000 men near
Cunaxa. The engagement ended fatally for Cyrus, who was killed 401 years
B.C.
=Dæd´alus=, an Athenian, was the most ingenious artist of his age; he was
the inventor of the wedge and many other mechanical instruments. He made
a famous labyrinth for Minos, king of Crete, but incurred the
displeasure of Minos, who ordered him to be confined in the labyrinth.
Here he made himself wings with feathers and wax, and fitted them to his
body, adopting the same course with his son Icarus, who was the
companion of his confinement. They mounted into the air, but the heat of
the sun melted the wax on the wings of Icarus, and he fell into the
ocean, which after him has been called the Icarian Sea. The father
alighted safely at Cumæ, where he built a temple to Apollo.
=Dan´ae=, daughter of Acrisius, king of Argos, and Eurydice. Jupiter was
enamored with her, and they had a son, with whom Danae was exposed in a
boat on the sea by her father. The winds carried them to the island of
Seriphus, where she was saved by some fishermen, and carried to
Polydectes, king of the place, whose brother, named Dictys, educated the
child, who was called Perseus, and kindly treated the mother.
=Dana´ides.= The fifty daughters of Danaus, king of Argos, who married the
fifty sons of their uncle Ægyptus. Danaus had been told by the oracle
that he would be killed by a son-in-law, and he made his daughters
promise to slay their husbands immediately after marriage. All of them
fulfilled their father's wishes except one, Hypermnestra, who spared her
husband Lynceus.
=Daph´ne.= A daughter of the River Peneus, or of the Ladon, and the
goddess Terra, of whom Apollo became enamored. Daphne fled to avoid the
addresses of this god, and was changed into a laurel.
=Dar´danus.= A son of Jupiter, who killed his brother Jasius to obtain the
kingdom of Etruria. He built the city of Dardania, and was reckoned to
have been the founder of Troy.
=Dari´us.= A noble satrap of Persia, son of Hystaspes, who usurped the
crown of Persia after the death of Cambyses. Darius was twenty-nine
years old when he ascended the throne, and he soon distinguished himself
by his military prowess. He besieged Babylon, which he took after a
siege of twenty months. He died B.C. 485.
=Dari´us=, the second king of Persia of that name, ascended the throne of
Persia soon after the murder of Xerxes. He carried on many wars with
success, aided by his generals and his son Cyrus the younger. He died
B.C. 404, after a reign of nineteen years.
=Dari´us.= The third king of Persia of that name. He soon had to take the
field against Alexander, who invaded Persia. Darius met him with an
enormous army, which, however, was more remarkable for the luxuries
indulged in by its leaders than for military courage. A battle was
fought near the Granicus, in which the Persians were easily defeated,
and another conflict followed near Issus, equally fatal to the Persians.
Darius escaped and assembled another powerful army. The last and
decisive battle was fought at Arbela, Alexander being again victorious.
When the fight was over Darius was found in his chariot covered with
wounds and expiring, B.C. 331.
=Dejani´ra.= A daughter of OEneus, king of Ætolia. Her beauty procured
her many admirers, and her father promised to give her in marriage to
him who should excel in a competition of strength. Hercules obtained
the prize, and married Dejanira.
=Del´phi.= A town of Phocis, at the south-west side of Mount Parnassus. It
was famous for a temple of Apollo, and for an oracle celebrated in every
age and country.
=Deme´trius.= A son of Antigonus and Stratonice, surnamed Poliorcetes,
_destroyer of towns_. At the age of twenty-two he was sent by his father
against Ptolemy, who had invaded Syria. He was defeated at Gaza, but
soon afterwards obtained a victory. The greater part of his life was
passed in warfare, his fortunes undergoing many changes. He was
distinguished for his fondness of dissipation when in dissolute society,
and for military skill and valor in the battle-field. He died B.C. 286.
=Deme´trius.= Surnamed _Soter_, king of Syria. His father gave him as a
hostage to the Romans. After the death of his father, Seleucus
Philopator, Antiochus Epiphanes usurped the throne of Syria, and was
succeeded by his son Antiochus Eupator. Demetrius procured his liberty,
and established himself on the throne, causing Eupator to be put to
death.
=Deme´trius.= Son of Soter, whom he succeeded after he had driven from the
throne a usurper, Alexander Bala. Demetrius gave himself up to luxury,
and suffered his kingdom to be governed by his favorites, thus becoming
odious to his subjects. He was at last killed by the governor of Tyre,
where he had fled for protection.